Blackout
by Azulsky
Summary: It wasn't so much a Birthday Party as it was a 'Thank God We didn't Die' party.


A/N: Requested prompt by a friend. Canon not mine. Enjoy.

* * *

It wasn't so much a Birthday party as a 'Thank God we didn't die from the G-Rexes.' Yes, mark that, plural. There were five of them. In one place.

It took four sleepless days, countless loss of pets, herds of sheep, and stray cats, as well as millions of pounds of civil destruction, for the ARC team to round up the very extinct species and shepard them through the anomaly they came through.

With the lock of the anomaly, everyone finally came up for breath and realized what day it was.

Danny slapped Connor on the back,

"Well, guess this is the best present money can't buy, yeah? Happy Birthday, Connor."

Connor huffed out a laugh,

"There are three things I can guarantee that will happen, in sequence, after this moment of relief."

Abby looked on at the boys, her clothes torn and covered in suspect dirt, waiting.

"One," Connor put up his finger, "we all take a shower. Not together, of course." He laughs, "and two, there will be drinks."

Danny pats Danny on the back again,

"Of course, Mate," he turns to make his way toward their car and calls over his shoulders, "I call first shower!"

Abby matches Connor's stride as they follow Danny, Sarah is already ahead of them.

"What's the third thing, Connor?"

He smiles wide and open, taking her hand in his.

That's the last thing he remembers before waking up under his bed, Sid and Nancy curled up with him.

Two things he quickly realizes are that he has the worst earthquake happening in his brain and subsequently in his eyes and that there are voices down in the kitchen. He moans. Nancy barely stirs, Sid keeps on sleeping.

"Sounds like he's alive."

He moans again.

"Yep, definitely alive."

He focuses on breathing and not moving.

"Moan once if you want me to bring you some aspirin, two if you want me to leave you alone," Abby calls up.

After a moment of silence, he moans one more time.

He can hear her moving slowly through the kitchen, the tap turn on and her slow ascend toward his room. All of it's amplified and when she gets to his level, he can feel her footsteps through his body.

"I'm still surprised you managed this, either you come out from there, or I pull the bed up. Considering it feels like King's Cross is in my brain, I'd rather do as little as possible."

He contemplates not getting up.

"Maybe he is dead," calls up from the kitchen.

"I hope not, Sarah, I was only just getting to like the guy."

Connor breaths in deep and slowly builds up the courage to move, pulling himself slowly from under his bed. Nancy yawns as she stretches and saunters off, Sid continues sleeping.

"We've got a live one!"

"Not so loud."

"Did he say something?" Asks Sarah as she appears in Connor's room.

Abby hands the glass of water and a fistful of aspirin to Connor who slowly manages to not spill any of it on him, or puke. It is a great success.

"Why did you do it, Connor?"

"Do what?"

"Take Danny's Challenge."

"What?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sarah questions.

Connor thinks a moment, staring around the room, which looks like a pack of wild antelopes went through and redecorated.

"It doesn't look any better downstairs either."

"What happened?"

"Well, I wish I could blame it on you, Connor, but really, "Abby rubs her forehead, "we all kinda got royally pissed."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sarah asks again.

"Ugh…closing the anomaly."

The two girls begin laughing despite the injury it causes each other.

"Seriously?" Abby chuckles out, "because if you are, that was like, fourteen hours ago."

"Though, I guess it does make sense. I only hope when Danny comes around, he's worse off, he deserves it."

Off of Connor's confused look, Sarah continues,

"Danny's passed out in the kitchen."

"More like we left him in the state he made himself."

"Serves him right."

"What did he do?" Asks Connor as he tentatively gains some footing, inching his way toward the bathroom.

"You were going on about some Indiana Jones drinking game earlier in the night, and he actually made you do it."

He stops in the threshold of the bathroom, using the doorway as support,

"Wait, We didn't, he, we actually did it?"

"He kept calling you Marion."

"Who won?"

"Becker."

A groan floats up from the kitchen,

"Ah ha, he awakens. You go do your thing, Connor. We'll go do damage control," and with that, the two girls head down the stairs. He lingers a bit before closing the door and peeing for what feels like a blessed eternity before drowning himself in a shower until the hot water is gone. The steam makes him feel mildly human, the jim-jams he puts on help also when he finally makes his way downstairs he is struck by awe.

"Oi, I thought I killed ya," chirps out Danny, looking disheveled, quite in line with everything else around him.

"Wow, you weren't lyin'." Connor breaths out, "I am going to have to clean off of this, aren't I?" Abby shakes her head.

"Actually, Mr. Quinn here will be taking the helm of cleaning our home. Ain't cha?"

"It's not all my fault." He looks around and points at the mess on the couch, "who decided in the middle of the night to start building a pint detector?"

Circuitry, wires, and various forms of pliers litter the couch.

"Where are the cushions?"

"You also figured building a fort would help."

"Didn' you at one point set Becker to guard your fort, yeah?"

Sarah started laughing,

"Yeah! He did, oh, I almost forgot that. He was a right help. Said he'd guard it with his life."

Abby looks around her,

"Where is Becker, anyway?"

Everyone shrugs.

"Wasn't he with you, Sarah?" Abby continues.

Sarah blushes as she tries to think,

"Good Lord, was he? Last thing I remember is chasing Sid around your flat because he got hold of my shoe."

Danny nods,

"Yeah, he was with you there, said it was his job to track down the creatures."

Sarah looks down at her feet, both clad in a shoe,

"Okay, so he did it. He got me my shoes back."

Abby leans into the counter, "that's the last thing you remember?"

Sarah thinks harder, and a combination of a nod and a shrug,

"It's fuzzy after that."

"Last thing I remember," Danny chips in, "Abby was putting a tiara on Nancy?"

Abby covers her face,

"Oh God, I remember," Danny laughs as hard as his headache will allow," she hated it. But Sid didn't mind."

Connor huffs out a laugh, while Abby racks her brain,

"Last thing I remember was putting the telly in the fort."

"We are grown adults, and we're building forts." Danny rubs his face, "What about you Temple?"

"Oh don't bother with him, he doesn't remember anything," supplied Abby.

"Really now?"

"I remember locking the anomaly and then there's nothin'." Now Danny really does laugh, and then Sarah asks,

"But then, so, none of us know where Becker is?"

Everyone pauses, thinking through their collective headaches and noise sensitivities.

"Maybe he went home?"

"Oh no way, that," Danny states, looking over at Sarah, "he wouldn't have gone home."

"He wasn't here when I woke up," Abby said, "and I was only up a little bit before Sarah, and before Connor."

"We've lost a man."

"Well, don't worry; I'm sure he'll turn up. It's not as if raptors are on the loose."

"What is that?" Connor points to a statue where the telly should be.

"Danny felt like redecorating the place." The statue was of a naked woman, something, Connor figured, that looked like it belonged in a rose garden. She was covered in clothes, and upon closer inspection, he found them to be a combination of piece from his and Abby's wardrobe; Becker's vest on top of it all, neatly secured across the chest of the rather busty, and silent woman.

Danny finally gets up and turns to his handy work,

"Hey, I wouldn't have been able to get it in here without your help. Cheers for that."

"Where did you get it?"

Danny is interrupted by the front door opening revealing Becker with some bags and a tray of coffee in his hands. He effortlessly closes the door,

"Hello, everyone's awake, good. I was worried you'd wake up to cold coffee. Figured everyone needed some," he walks up the stairs, the smell of bagels and donuts ripple past him on his way to the kitchen table. He's clean, awake, and alert.

"We were wondering where you were," Sarah says while peaking into one of the bags, to find warm croissants.

"Popped down the street, hope you didn't mind," he says giving a warm smile to her.

"I feel like hell, how are you even, you look like you just walked out of a magazine, you're so-"

"-Fresh," Abby supplies.

Becker smiles into his coffee,

"Military, Quinn, if I can't drink, I'm not worthy of the title Captain."

Connor chuckles, reaching for a coffee,

"So you remember everything, then?" Asks Connor,

"Yes, of course."

"Fantastic, so what happened?"

Becker's smile widens and he almost tries to hide it,

"How about we save story time for after we the lady back to where she belongs," he says motioning toward the statue. Connor nods sadly, knowing he's got to help no matter what. "You too, Danny."

"I don't know what's worse, you having a tolerance of a God, or that even though we got you incredibly pissed, we still don't know your first name."

"Oh, I know it." Connor says triumphantly.

"You hacked my file, didn't you, Temple?"

Connor shifts his eyes,

"No, of course not."

Becker nods,

"Tell you what, you don't tell Quinn here my name, and you don't have to help move the statue back."

"Deal."

"Not fair, mate. Not fair."


End file.
